Jan Brewer Offers to Restore Life Saving Transplant Program in Exchange for Taking Health Care Away from 160,000 Arizonians
By: Rick Unger | The Policy Page | Forbes

The blogosphere was abuzz yesterday with the big news that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer-who last year cut off $1.2 million in Medicaid funding required to provide life-saving organ transplants to Arizonans in need- was ready to restore the funding and set things right for the nearly 100 people who remain on the list awaiting transplants.

While the change of heart has come late for the two unfortunate souls who have already passed away as a result of the budget cut, at least those who remain alive would now have a chance to survive.

That’s some pretty good news – if only it were true.

Contrary to yesterday’s happy reports, Governor Brewer has donenothing to restore this funding.

What she did do was send a letter to HHS Secretary Sibelius wherein she offered a rather intriguing trade.

If the Secretary would agree to Brewer’s desire to cut some $500 million from the state’s Medicaid program, Governor Brewer would reciprocate by restoring the $1.2 million in funding for the transplant program.

Brewer’s proposal would eliminate all new enrollments for Arizona adults who do not have children, along with ending the availability of Medicaid services to those who earn 75% of the federal poverty level or more. To be clear, that’s not 75% above the poverty level. Brewer seeks to cut off Medicaid services to those who earn 25% below the federal poverty line.

The result of the governor’s plan would be the denial of Medicaid to approximately 160,000 Arizonans.

And, if it’s all good with the HHS Secretary, Governor Brewer would also like to increase payments for approximately 200,000 Arizonans who wish to stay on Medicare.

Some deal, right?

All Sibelius has to do is allow Brewer to completely cut off vital medical services to some 160,000 Arizonans while raising the costs of care for 200,000 more who would struggle to pay the extra charge and, in return, the governor will reciprocate by giving up her 100 hostages waiting to die due to lack of money to pay for the transplants that would save their lives.

What a gal.

As luck would have it, that $500 million figure Brewer seeks to cut from state Medicaid services fits snuggly into a rather gaping hole in the Arizona state budget –the one created when Governor Brewer pushed through a $538 million corporate tax cut package earlier this year

But what’s a governor to do? Finding an extra $1.2 million to save 100 lives is no easy chore.

Never mind that the Governor found $5 million to give to the Pinal County Sheriff for an immigration-enforcement fund that his own county supervisors refused to provide.

Never mind that Brewer spent $1.7 million of the stimulus money given her by the federal government to fix the roof of Veterans Memorial Coliseum – money that could have legally been spent on the transplant program.

But a governor’s got to do what a governor’s got to do. And if 100 people have to die so that Pinal County can track down one more illegal alien, then I suppose that’s just the price and privilege of being an Arizonan.

NOTE FROM DONATE LIFE ORGAN DONATION BLOG:  "Happy Donate Life Month" - yeah right!